The overall downturn in the housing market, coupled with a couple of bad hurricane seasons, has “knocked a little bit of sense in a real estate market that badly needed it,” reported CNBC’s Scott Cohn.

Now, inventories are on the rise, investment speculators are gone and pricing has become more rational. "If you liked this area before could not get into it, there may be some places now you can afford that you couldn’t afford a year ago,” Cohn said. "That may make it worth another look."

“It’s a lot more fun,” adds Julie Daniels, a realtor in South Florida. “You have a lot more property to show a buyer, you aren’t limited to a just a few things and sellers tend to be a little more negotiable, a little more flexible on their pricing."

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